BASEBALL vs. North Carolina A&T State and Butler
WHEN:  Friday, Feb. 14 vs. North Carolina A&T State 3:30 p.m. | Saturday, Feb. 15 vs. Butler 12 p.m. | Sunday, Feb. 16 vs. Butler 11 a.m.
WHERE:  Lexington County Baseball Stadium | Lexington, S.C.
LIVE STATS: Click here

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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team will open the 2020 season with three games in Lexington, S.C., facing North Carolina A&T State on Friday and Butler on Saturday and Sunday.
 
It's Opening Day for the Patriots when they face the Aggies on Friday, Feb. 14 at 3:30 p.m.  Mason will play the Bulldogs on Saturday at 12 p.m. and close out the trip against Butler on Sunday with the first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m.
 
Mason head coach Bill Brown begins his 39th season at the helm of the Patriots.  He has guided the team to the Atlantic 10 Tournament three times in the last six seasons.
 
The Patriots finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 19-35, including a mark of 5-19 against Atlantic 10 opponents.  Mason was 13-16 at home, 3-19 on the road and 3-0 in games played at a neutral site last season.
 
In a preseason poll conducted by the league's head coaches, Mason was projected to finish 10th in the conference this season.

The Patriots begin the 2020 season with two graduate students, two seniors, 10 juniors, 10 sophomores and eight freshmen on the club.

Mason returns two starting position players and 12 pitchers from last year's roster.
 
Senior right-hander James Beasley posted a 1-2 record.  He led the team in saves (4) and was second in ERA (4.70) and tied for third on the club in appearances (16).  Beasley held opponents to a .241 batting average, second-lowest on the team.
 
Sophomore Stuart Barret was 1-0 with three saves and a 5.14 ERA his freshman campaign.  He made a team-high 21 appearances out of the bullpen and held opponents to a .223 batting average, lowest on the club.
 
Also returning to the Mason pitching staff are juniors Thomas Bradley, Austin Cabone and Michael Yuille, along with sophomores Patrick Halligan, Jared Lyons, Hugh O'Hara, Mason Posey, Nate Young and Nick Zegna.
 
Mason added depth on the mound, with five of the 13 newcomers on this year's roster joining the pitching staff.
 
Pitchers Matthew Favero, Lyle Miller-Green, Dominic Masullo, Tyler Rulapaugh and Matthew Sykes will look to make their Mason debuts.

Behind the plate, redshirt junior Devon Adams and redshirt senior Bailey Klein will be joined by freshman Jake Manderson.
 
Klein started 51 games during the 2019 season and batted .240 with four doubles, three home runs and 26 RBI.  He was second on the team in at-bats (196), third in games played (51), home runs (3) and RBI (26) and fourth on the club in hits (47).
 
Transfer graduate student Cooper Mrowka, juniors Daniel Brooks and Scott Morgan and sophomore Jared Lyons will anchor a young group of infielders.  Freshmen Corey Leadenham, South Trimble and Miller-Green are poised for their collegiate debuts.
 
In the outfield, the Patriots will have junior returner Cam Reckling, along with junior transfer Jackson Barrett.  Graduate student Jack DeLongchamps, sophomore Connor Baine and freshman Craig Miles, Jr. will also patrol the outfield for Mason.   

Last season, Reckling started 52 games in the outfield and hit .271 with nine doubles, three home runs and 21 RBI.  He led the team in runs scored (39), at-bats (203) and was second on the club in hits (55) and doubles (9).
 
Mason won its first three games last season.  The Patriots began with a 7-2 win over Iowa on Opening Day at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Fla.  Mason also earned a 9-4 victory over Marshall and a 12-5 win against Villanova to wrap up the opening weekend.
 
Mason will face North Carolina A&T State for the first time in program history.  Butler swept four games from the Patriots at Lexington County Baseball Stadium Feb. 23-25, 2018 in the first meeting between the two teams.
 
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE
 
The Aggies posted an overall record of 29-24 during the 2019 season, including a record of 16-8 against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents and a first-place finish in the MEAC Southern Division.
 
North Carolina A&T State was 12-11 at home, 14-11 on the road and 3-2 in games played at a neutral site.
 
The Aggies have been selected as the favorite to win the MEAC in the 2020 preseason poll, receiving 16 first-place votes and 110 points overall.
 
Senior right-handed pitcher Michael Johnson was named preseason Pitcher of the Year.  He earned First Team All-MEAC honors in 2019, posting a 7-2 record with a 3.62 ERA in 14 appearances last season.
 
Johnson struck out 43 and walked just 22 batters over his 14 appearances and ranked second in the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.54) and was fourth in ERA.
 
The Aggies had three players named preseason First Team All-MEAC, including Johnson.
 
Senior reliever Leon Davidson and senior shortstop Dustin Baber also were named to the preseason First Team All-MEAC. 
 
Davidson was 5-0 with four saves and a 0.67 ERA last season over 40.1 innings of work during the 2019 campaign.  He ranked second in the conference and 19th in the nation in appearances (33).
 
Baber led the Aggies with a .328 average with 15 doubles, two home runs and 30 RBI last season and earned First Team All-MEAC honors.
 
North Carolina A&T State had a team batting average of .256 and a team ERA of 3.74 last season.
 
SCOUTING BUTLER
 
Butler finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 26-26, including a third-place finish in the BIG EAST with a mark of 6-11 against conference opponents.     
 
The Bulldogs were 13-7 at home, 8-16 on the road and 5-3 in games played at a neutral site.
 
Butler was picked fifth in the preseason coaches' poll, while junior Connor Schultz was named BIG EAST Preseason Pitcher of the Year. 
 
Schultz, a native of Cedar Falls, Iowa, posted a 6-1 record and ranked 44th in the nation with a 2.29 ERA in 13 starts during the 2019 season.  He was third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.76) and was a two-time BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week.
 
Junior outfield James Gargano was third on the team with a .268 average, with 11 doubles, one triple, two home runs and 20 RBI last season.  He was third on the club in runs scored (39).
 
Butler had a team batting average of .261 and a team ERA of 4.25 last season.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
 
Friday:  RHP James Beasley vs. LHP Ethan Chavis
Saturday:  RHP Mason Posey vs. LHP Joe Graziano
Sunday:  RHP Jared Lyons vs. RHP Jon Vore